The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) should be allowed appeal a judge's rulings made during trial, according to the DPP Mr James Hamilton.
Unveiling the office's annual report for 2001, Mr Hamilton said its programme of expansion and reorganisation was almost complete. The most significant change in the last 12 months, he said, was the transfer of the Chief State Solicitor Office to the ODPP. It had been part of the Attorney General's office.
The Chief State Solicitor, Ms Claire Loftus, said she was handling cases of greater legal complexity and adjustments the structure of her office were ongoing.
The annual report shows the DPP has appealed the leniency of a sentence 23 times in 2001. Four were successful, one was refused and 18 are still pending.
Mr Hamilton said while he can appeal sentences he cannot appeal rulings made during a trial and called on the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, to address the issue "as a matter of urgency".
"We can't appeal a ruling within a trial . . . on, say, a piece of evidence."There are many decisions made by a court which leads to the case collapsing but it is not necessarily because the jury has been directed to give a verdict," Mr Hamilton said.
The report also shows 90 per cent of convictions were secured on plea. Mr Hamilton said the statistic justified his office's policy of bringing a charge that has realistic chance of success. He said plea-bargains made up a small part of the statistic.
The Director also drew attention to the Cartel Immunity Programme, which came into effect at the end of last year. Run in conjunction with the Competition Authority, it allows a "whistle-blower" immunity from prosecution in exchange for full co-operation with an investigation into an alleged cartel.